What makes you eligible for ISRO?

“To be eligible for absorption in ISRO/DOS, the student should have completed BTech programme in four years with a minimum Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 7.5 (in a scale of 10),” says Dr K S Dasgupta, director, IIST. A student who joins IIST to pursue a BTech programme is required to furnish a bond to serve ISRO/DOS for three years immediately after the completion of his or her course.

The Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore also runs a joint programme for training astrophysics graduate students. This is in collaboration with the Raman Research Institute (RRI), the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR). The programme has been operational since 1982 and has had around 80 students pursue their research in the field. However, the direct intake by ISRO through this programme has been very small, says Chanda Jog, professor, department of physics, IISc.